Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

SWALLOW

Hello
I have been discharged from Bankruptcy for 3 years now and have not taken any debt on since. I received a letter from Call credit advising me that they are "working with Arrow Global Guernsey to ensure customers understand their credit report" Call credit then advise me that Arrow global have marked a "debt" as defaulted which they acquired from MBNA and that the presence of this default could adversely affected my credit score.
I do not owe MBNA or Arrow Global any money and I have not heard from either company regarding any outstanding debts or claims.
I did have a debt with MBNA prior to my B.R. but this was included in the B.R.
Could you please advise me how I go forward in clearing this default off my credit score which I am sure certainly does not need this little hitch added to it. What I do not want to do is insight Arrow Global to start calling me with a thousand calls for a loan that is no longer due. It has crossed my mind that this was the aim of the letter?

Could you please provided any helpful pointers?
Thanks

StepChange_James

SWALLOW wrote: »

Hello
I have been discharged from Bankruptcy for 3 years now and have not taken any debt on since. I received a letter from Call credit advising me that they are "working with Arrow Global Guernsey to ensure customers understand their credit report" Call credit then advise me that Arrow global have marked a "debt" as defaulted which they acquired from MBNA and that the presence of this default could adversely affected my credit score.
I do not owe MBNA or Arrow Global any money and I have not heard from either company regarding any outstanding debts or claims.
I did have a debt with MBNA prior to my B.R. but this was included in the B.R.
Could you please advise me how I go forward in clearing this default off my credit score which I am sure certainly does not need this little hitch added to it. What I do not want to do is insight Arrow Global to start calling me with a thousand calls for a loan that is no longer due. It has crossed my mind that this was the aim of the letter?

Could you please provided any helpful pointers?
Thanks

Hi Swallow,

Thanks for posting. This sounds a bit odd. I wouldn't expect credit reference agencies to be "working with" debt collection agencies to chase up debts.

You shouldn't be getting any new information placed on your credit file since your bankruptcy. If it's a debt from bankruptcy then there should be no risk of anyone chasing you for the debt.

I'd suggest checking your credit history with noodle(https://www.noddle.co.uk/. It's a free service that works using the Call Credit credit reference system, so should pull through default information. If nothing else it'll help verify if Call Credit really have registered a default against you recently.

It could be harmless or it might be dodgy. If you've any doubts you could contact Call Credit to see if they send this sort of thing. If you do make sure you use contact details from their website: http://www.callcredit.co.uk/ not from the letter.

Kind regards

James

tkwinston4

Hi we have just had the house independently valued and its come out at £275,000 which is more than we were expecting.

The mortgage is £250,000 and its half mine and half my husbands. My husband went bankrupt on 8.12.11.

As per the letter received from the OR we went for the independent valuation rather than waiting another two years for them to make their decision.

So the question is once this equity is split in half will they force us to sell?
Also where do the selling fees come from? Would they be taken from my share of the equity or does it come from the whole equity or are we expected to find it from somewhere else?

Thanks in advance.

StepChange_James

tkwinston4 wrote: »

Hi we have just had the house independently valued and its come out at £275,000 which is more than we were expecting.

The mortgage is £250,000 and its half mine and half my husbands. My husband went bankrupt on 8.12.11.

As per the letter received from the OR we went for the independent valuation rather than waiting another two years for them to make their decision.

So the question is once this equity is split in half will they force us to sell?
Also where do the selling fees come from? Would they be taken from my share of the equity or does it come from the whole equity or are we expected to find it from somewhere else?

Thanks in advance.

Hello,

I'd suggest speaking to the OR and asking them what options are available. They have the power to force the sale but this can be avoided if there are people available who can buy your "beneficial interest" (their term for your share of the equity) from them.

There are some legal costs involved with this that have to be paid on top of the value of the beneficial interest, which the OR can confirm exactly but I'd expect to be a few hundred pounds.

There's more information in this leaflet: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/guidanceleafletspdf/home.pdf

Kind regards

James

tkwinston4

Thanks for the advice

skintandscared_2

I'd be grateful for advice please. I started a DMP with CCCS in November 2008. I have so far paid £21k off, with about £23k left to pay (if creditors have all frozen interest).

I am really struggling to keep up these payments of nearly £400 a month. My OH can't work so everything is down to me. All debts are in my name only. I have a car worth about £300 (an old "S" reg Clio) and we rent. I don't own any property. The only valuable thing I possess is my engagement ring, worth about £1,300.

According to my StepChange statement, I have another 5 years to go on my DMP, which will take the total plan to about 10 years. Then my credit rating is trashed for 6 years after that too - not that I'm really bothered about that as I've learned to live happily without credit cards or loans!

I am seriously considering going bankrupt. Household bills continue to rise while my wages stay the same and I just can't face another 5 years of this. In my situation, with no assets to sell, is it a viable option? Thanks.

StepChange_James

skintandscared wrote: »

I'd be grateful for advice please. I started a DMP with CCCS in November 2008. I have so far paid £21k off, with about £23k left to pay (if creditors have all frozen interest).

I am really struggling to keep up these payments of nearly £400 a month. My OH can't work so everything is down to me. All debts are in my name only. I have a car worth about £300 (an old "S" reg Clio) and we rent. I don't own any property. The only valuable thing I possess is my engagement ring, worth about £1,300.

According to my StepChange statement, I have another 5 years to go on my DMP, which will take the total plan to about 10 years. Then my credit rating is trashed for 6 years after that too - not that I'm really bothered about that as I've learned to live happily without credit cards or loans!

I am seriously considering going bankrupt. Household bills continue to rise while my wages stay the same and I just can't face another 5 years of this. In my situation, with no assets to sell, is it a viable option? Thanks.

Hello,

If you give our client support team a call they can carry out a review on your situation and will offer advice on what your best option is. Bankruptcy sounds like it could be a viable option but as our client support team have all your details they'll be able to look at things and see if it's right for your circumstances.

It's worth bearing in mind that you could be put onto a monthly payment plan follow bankruptcy (called a income payment arrangement).

These payments are usually set around about the level of your surplus income, which means that they are often similar to DMP payments. However, they are last for a maximum of three years (assuming you have surplus income after living costs for that time).

It's also worth talking to us about your engagement ring before going bankrupt. Given it's value it's likely that the Official Reciever (the person appointed to deal with the bankruptcy) is likely to want to know the details of this.

If they see it as an asset that they want to "realise" then they'll either want it to be sold or someone to give them the equivalent value in cash as an alternative.

So I'd not say bankruptcy isn't an option but at the same time it's worth comparing the two options side by side and seeing which is going to suit your circumstances.

Kind regards

James

cheesedoff1

Hi,

I have recently declared myself bankrupt and the bank I had with Santander was instantly frozen and I was unable to access my wages etc. I have since managed to open a "basic account" with Barclays. However I am still receiving correspondence from Barclaycard for the outstanding debt I owe, I noticed on the letter that it says they can offset monies from any Barclays accounts to settle this debt. Can I please ask is this correct?

Thanks

StepChange_James

cheesedoff1 wrote: »

Hi,

I have recently declared myself bankrupt and the bank I had with Santander was instantly frozen and I was unable to access my wages etc. I have since managed to open a "basic account" with Barclays. However I am still receiving correspondence from Barclaycard for the outstanding debt I owe, I noticed on the letter that it says they can offset monies from any Barclays accounts to settle this debt. Can I please ask is this correct?

Thanks

Hello,

If you'd not gone bankrupt then it would be possible for a creditor to take money from a bank account within the same group of companies. You can read more about it here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/setting-off.

Luckily for your situation, the debt falls within those included in bankruptcy and therefore they're only entitled to money that is given to them via your Official Receiver (OR) and shouldn't send you letters once they've been notified of the bankruptcy.

If it's been a little while since you went bankrupt it might be worth giving your OR's office a call and asking them to let Barclaycard know about the bankruptcy again, that should stop the letters.

Cheers

James

megabite

Hi there. just trying to find where I'd find help or information I can quote and reference.
I'll give the points as I've been given, if clarification is needed I'll find out the details.

My girlfriend had an IVA 3 or 4 years ago.
She got an inheritance (grandparents will).
A large portion got taken by debtors.
3 years later, now she is financially stable, her grandfathers care home is asking for fees to th tune of £11,000 for care during her grandfathers ilnes.
Her estranged mother has paid her part of the fee's with her part of the inheritance.

So.
If she had an active IVA at the time the bill was incoured by her grandfather, the inhertiance has gone (to debtors iirc). id she still liable 3 years later?
Where can I find proof to send to the care home if she is not liable.
who should we contact for support on this?
CAB, Soliciter, or are we best dealing with it our selves?

Thanks you for any help or assitance.